This is Viewpoints for Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Dan LaMoore sizes hands for an 8-foot diameter silhouette clock at Electric Time Co., in Medfield, Mass. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time Sunday, when clocks are set back one hour. Elise AmendolaAP

Dan LaMoore sizes hands for an 8-foot diameter silhouette clock at Electric Time Co., in Medfield, Mass. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time Sunday, when clocks are set back one hour. Elise AmendolaAP

Daylight Savings Time

I saw in the Macon paper Nov. 3 extra section about the article on daylight savings time. DST does mess things up and causes problems. In fact more energy is used during DST. One hour in the evening won’t make any difference one way or the other. We’re on standard time and we need to stay that way and get rid of DST.

Bobby Adams,

Rochelle

Subtle as a chain saw

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With abundant justification, much has been written about the colossally expensive, publicly subsidized, $30 billion fiasco known as the Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant expansion. That’s twice the amount of the venture’s original price tag.

Despite claiming to be devout proponents of “free enterprise,” executives and investors hyping this project benefit from an unprecedented $12 billion taxpayer bailout (increase pending) and — so far — more than $2 billion in state-mandated payments by residential power customers in advance of the boondoggle’s completion.

Contrary to what Georgia Power promoters assured members of Georgia’s Public Service Commission when the project was approved in 2009, cost overruns and delays have plagued the scheme. These problems were explicitly predicted by the many opponents of Vogtle’s expansion, but the PSC — in keeping with Georgia’s biased political tradition — gave undeserved benefit-of-doubt to Georgia Power executives.

Opponents of nuclear power have described deploying nuclear reactors to provide electricity for homes and offices as “using a chainsaw to cut butter” because of the massive and risky hardware needed, not to mention the daunting dilemma of storing highly toxic radioactive waste for centuries — for which there remains no acceptable “solution” after decades of searching.

The chainsaw metaphor resonates with even greater relevance now, as solar and wind-power costs have plummeted, and they’re successfully competing in markets for reliable energy. In the past year, clean-energy use grew by 17 percent, and clean-power jobs now exceed those supported by all other forms of energy combined. From this perspective, the Vogtle gambit is attempting to “cut butter” with a very pricey chainsaw.

David Kyler

St. Simons Island

The writer is executive director for the environmental advocacy group Center for a Sustainable Coast.

Editors

For good or bad

A fact in every mass shooting, as evidenced by the Texas church shooting, is that someone with a gun stops the killing every time.

Darlis Whitworth,

Gray

The humble and meek

Bill Cummings says in this week’s column that he has extensive biblical knowledge, he loves it and he “cringes when it’s misquoted.”

Are we, your readers, too stupid to understand what we read each day in a prayerful, grace inspired way? Is our “simple faith” naive and unsophisticated?

I would like to quote what Pope Francis said in a homily in 2014: “God reveals himself to humble and meek hearts. Many can know science, theology as well. But if they do not do this theology on their knees, that is, humbly, like the little ones, they will not understand anything. They will tell us many things, but they will not understand anything. In the day’s gospel reading, Luke 10:21-24, Jesus praises God the father for having ‘hidden these things from the wise and the learned ... and revealed them to the childlike.’ Only those who have a heart like a child are capable of receiving this revelation, those who have a humble, meek heart, who feel the need to pray, to open themselves to God, who feel poor; only those who live according to the first Beatitude — the poor in spirit. The grandeur of the mystery of God is only known in the mystery of Jesus, and the mystery of Jesus is precisely a mystery of condescension, of abasement, of humiliation (which) brings salvation to the poor, to those who are humiliated by sickness, sin and difficult situations. The mystery of Jesus cannot be understood outside this frame.”

David Burkovich,

Macon

Dying off

All of the preachers, priests and the pope failed to stop the ACLU when they took prayer and all religious freedoms away from primarily whites. Even the mighty military refused to challenge them. The 1.3 billion Muslims continue to pray any time, anywhere.

As my generation rapidly diminishes, the long standing white productiveness and leadership is being replaced with socialism and massive sociological deterioration. Put bluntly, America is no longer the home of the brave, but the servant to a multicultural society run by Muslims. Want to argue the fact that they already have massive control worldwide.

The 140 million of us born from 1940 to 1950 are now dwindling rapidly. Yes, I am proud to have been a part of the most productive and hard working Americans ever.

Joe Hubbard,

Macon

Giving back

I would like to thank the dentist and staff at Family Dental Associates in Warner Robins for participating in the “Veterans’ Smile Day 2017” providing free dental care for veterans. Dr Bell also had doughnuts, coffee, drinks, pizza and snacks for all who attended.

Dr. Ken Colson and Deborah pulled a tooth for me, it was way in the back and had broken off. It was not a simple task. With their expertise the tooth was extracted at no charge. I highly recommend Dr. Colson and everyone at Family Dental Associates for all their dental care.

Michael Lynch,

Past President

Vietnam Veterans

of America

Middle Georgia Chapter 443

Tax plan

House Republicans have rolled out their tax plan. We have to wait to see if it passes the House. Then we have to wait to see if congressional Republicans can pass it. If there are any differences between the House and the Senate they will have to resolve their differences. If the tax cuts add more than $1.51 trillion to the debt by 2028, the tax bill will require 60 votes in the Senate. There are ways to determine if the tax cuts benefits all tax payers.

Will the tax cuts be retroactive to January 1, 2017?Will taxpayers be able to compute and file a one-page tax form? Will dividends and capital gains be taxed the same as interest?

Were any corporate tax loopholes eliminated? If not, the effective corporate tax rate will be 13 percent not 20 percent.